John Muir Legacy Lives On

The Scot who founded America's National Parks and went on to become a household
name in the US will be celebrated at a special Scotland Week event later today.

Dunbar-born John Muir, whose commitment to conservation led to the creation
of the Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks in the 19th century, will be hailed
as an environmental visionary in a speech by Education Secretary - and former
Environment Minister - Michael Russell.

In his address to the prestigious Sierra Club in San Francisco, Mr Russell
will highlight the shared commitment in Scotland and the USA to tackle climate
change.

The Sierra Club was founded by John Muir in 1892 and is the USA's oldest and
largest environmental organisation.

Mr Russell will say:

"John Muir is known to almost everyone in the United States but is less
well-known in the country of his birth. Perhaps that is inevitable given the
astonishing legacy he left behind in the States, but nevertheless we should
be proud in Scotland that one of our own gave so much to the world.

"Muir once said that 'when we try to pick out anything by itself, we
find it hitched to everything else in the universe'. This was an early and
far-sighted understanding of how the environment is connected to everything
we do, and here we are in the 21st century battling to tackle the consequences
of ignoring that message for far too long.

"In 2005 the Sierra Club made the fight against global warming its number
one priority and that commitment is now reflected at the highest levels of
the US Government. It is a commitment shared by the Scottish Government, which
has set some of the most ambitious climate change targets in the world. By
2020 we want to have cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 42 per cent and
by 2050 we want to have increased that figure to 80 per cent.

"Our ambitions for a low-carbon economy and for renewable energy are
aligned with the goals of the Sierra Club. By working together with like-minded
organisations and governments across the globe we can make a difference and
leave behind a legacy of which John Muir would have been proud."

Sierra Club Chairman Carl Pope said:

"Through his visionary work preserving America's most pristine wilderness,
John Muir bent the arc of history. We simply would not have wilderness to save
if Muir had not fought to protect it.

"In an era of climate change, we are challenged, again, to bend the arc
of history. The Sierra Club is honored to share John Muir's legacy with the
John Muir Trust and the Scottish Government. Together, we can face the greatest
global challenge of our generation. Together, we can bend the arc of history
and beat climate change."

Prior to his speech at the Sierra Club, Mr Russell will plant a redwood tree
in San Francisco's Presidio National Park along with local schoolchildren.
He will also be joined by members of the Sierra Club and John Hutchison, chairman
of Scotland's John Muir Trust.

John Muir was born in Dunbar, East Lothian in 1838 and emigrated with his
family to the United States in 1849. His love of the American wilderness helped
preserve the country's natural environment. His accounts of his adventures
in the wild, particularly in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have
been read by millions. He founded the Sierra Club in 1892 and in 1899 he petitioned
the US Congress and succeeded in the National Parks Bill being passed.

Scotland Week 2010 runs from April 3 to 10. It is an ambitious programme of
engagements undertaken by Scottish Ministers, VisitScotland and SDI across
the U.S. and Canada.

See also: Prizing
the Power of the Sea by Michael Russell,Scotland's Cabinet secretary
for education and lifelong learning, and former minister for the environment.
Russell argues that "John Muir would have been excited by the prospect
that the natural resources around us may actually be the key to solving the
climate crisis."